How does the author describe his own character and mindset before he came to Shirdi?

In Chapter 2, the author, Hemadpant, provides a very candid and unflattering self-assessment of his character before meeting Sai Baba. He describes his younger self as "mischievous, talkative, cynical, and critical." He admits to being arrogant about his own knowledge, possessing a "logic-driven mind" that was always proud and prone to argumentation. He states that he had a "bad intellect" and knew nothing of the greatness of a Satguru. He attributes his eventual journey to Shirdi not to his own virtues, but to a strong destiny and his past-life connections with Kakasaheb Dixit and Nanasaheb Chandorkar.